Combined cigarette case and lighter



y I F. J. NANKYIVELLI 1,8 9,

COMBINED CIGARETTE CASE AND LIGHTER Filed March 20, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheetl May 24, 1932. F. J. NANKIVELL- 1,859,881

COMBINED CIGARETTE CASE AND LIGHTER Filed March 20, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet2 MW; 8 U 177054098 Patented May 24, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEFRANK J. NANKIVELL, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T CLARK PARKERAND CHARLES MCC. CHAPMAN, BOTH OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

COMBINED CIGARETTE CASE AND LIGI-ITER Application filed March 20, 1929.Serial No. 348,582.

This invention relates to a pocket cigarette case in which isincorporated a-lighter simithe usual way in a fiat 'layer or pile. The

' lighter which resembles, in its main features, an ordinary flamelighter, occupies a part of the case adjacent and in the same plane asthe cigarettes, a preferred arrangement being one in which the flame ofthe lighter will be located in close proximity to the end of the topcigarette of the pile. t

A further feature of the invention relates to means for oscillating airthrough the top cigarette after the flame of the lighter is lit so as tocause the ignition of the tobacco in the end of the cigarette. The airis pumped through the cigarette by a bellows operated by a finger buttonprojecting through the .25 case, and in a preferred form the bellowsbutton is placed on the opposite end of the case from the igniter buttonwhich also projects through the case. The buttons will be convenient tobe simultaneously operated, by the thumb and fingers, in their naturalposition when grasping the case.

Another feature relates to means for releasing end flaps or lids of thecase to expose the top cigarette, this being accomplished by the nitialmovement of the igniter button; Another feature relates to means 'forpushing the top cigarette a short distance longitudinally toward theigniter so that it alone will be ignited, and this movement is alsorelied upon to insure proper and tight contact between the rear of thetop cigarette and the nozzle of the bellows.

Other features relate to providing resilient holding means for saidnozzle,a hood surrounding the nozzle to receive and limit the upwardmovement of the cigarettes, and means for shielding the top cigarette sothat it can only be taken hold of at the right place in removing it" bythe fingers from its hold ing means.

Other features will be described in connection with an embodiment of myinvention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1is a perspective view of the combination case closed.

Figure 2 is a similar View with the case opened at one edge.

Figure 3 is a bottom View of the case. Figure 4 is a side elevation ofthe case with one side open to expose the mechanism.

Figure 5 is an end view of the open case.

Figure 6 is a sectional View showing the nozzle of the bellows. y

Figure 7 is a transverse view through the bellows and. operating ,buttonon line 77 of Figure 4.

Figure 8 is a side view on a larger scale partially in section showingthe details of the igniter mechanism, and

Figure 9 is a View of the plunger holding spring.

The case 1 is'formed of stamped metal or r other material in the usualmanner of cigarette case, the case being formed of two principal halveshinged together at the base, by a longitudinal hinge 2. The free edge ofeach side of the case is provided with an additional hinged lid or cover3 so that when the two sides of the case are closed together and the twolids 3 also closed together, the case will be completely closed in, asshown in Figure 1. The hinges 4 that hinge the lids 3 to the sides ofthecase are preferably made with springs tending to throw the lids openwhen released, as described below." One part of the case indicated at 5is intended to be used as a repository for a pile of cigarettes laidfiat in one plane. The rest of the case is filled on the'right by a flatcigarette lighter 6 made of such dimensions as to fit snugly within thecase, and at the other end with a bellows 7 made of a hollow rubbertube. In the part 5 of the case, a sliding follower 8 guided by a rod 9and forced out by a coil spring 10 acts as a pusher to push the pile ofcigarettes outward. The follower 8 may be pushed down and made to engageina notch 11 in the rod 9 so as to hold thespring in its compressedposition whilelOO the case is being filled with cigarettes. When thecase is' so filled, the follower 8 may be released from the catch 11 andwill then tend to force the cigarettes upward out of the case. The endor top cigarette, however, shown at 12, is held yieldingly by springclips 13 at the end next to the lighter, while at the other end, theyare held by a bonnet 14 so that they will be securely held until takenhold of and pulled out. Since the clips 13 are open to the top while thebonnet 14 is not, it is desirable to lift the cigarette at the outerend, and in order vto make sure that the cigarette is taken hold of nearthe outer end, I provide ashield 15 which shrouds one side of thecigarette throughout its length except near its forward end. By liftingthe cigarette at its forward end, it may be drawn out from the bonnet 14after it is free of the clips 13 Withoutanyinjury. The lighter itself isof the ordinary construction and comprises a reservoir for oil orspirits shown at 16 which may be filled from the bottom of the casethrough a stoppered orifice, the stopper being shown at 17. On top ofthe fuel tank 16, brackets 18 carry a pivot 19 on which {are journalleda ratchet wheel 20 attached l the finger or the thumb of the user.

' with its efficiency.

fitted at its upper end over an elbow 34 that to a milled burr wheel 21,and gear wheels 22 attached to a rocking snufler arm 23 that has at itsouter end'a snuifer, and carries pivoted at its mid-length a pawl 25. Areciproeating button 26 has a rack portion engaging with the pinions 22and is held in an out-i ward position by means of a spring 27. Thisbutton'26 extends through the side of the cigarette case so as to beaccessible either to pushed in, the rack on the button turning thepinion 22 rocks the snufl'er arm 23 backward, the pawl 25 at the sametime dragging the ratchet 20 backward also which causes the burr wheel21 to rotate. A stone 28 (see Figure 8) is pressed up against the burrwheel and the motion of the latter causes sparks to fly out and set fireto a wick 29 that draws fuel from the tank 16. The flame from the wickshoots up in front of the top cigarette and the second cigarette isshielded therefrom by a curved arm 30. At the other end of the casefromthe igniter, a button 31 protrudes through the case and inside the casehas a longitudinal plunger 32 that acts against the rubber bellows 7,which on the other side is held in a concave abutment or seat.- 33. Theside of the plunger 32 towards the bellows is made convex see Figure 7)as I have found that this gives a more complete evacuation of the bulb.As shown in igures 7 and 9, a flat spring 42 is secured to the case atits lower end and to the back of the plunger at its upper end; \Vith thespring 42, the plunger is held against lateral movement that wouldotherwise interfere The bulb or bellows 7 is When has an orifice throughit 35. The outer end of the elbow fits against or is attached to thehood 14, which hood has a hole 36 registering with the hole in theelbow. The hood 14 is carried on a flexible metal strap 37 whichpresents a concave face to the ends of the cigarett'es and exerts agentle endwise pressure against them, so that as the cigarettes areshoved up into place by the action of the spring 10, the shieldingabutment 37 will perform two functions, one of which is to maintain aclose contact between the end of the cigarette and the bottom of thehood, so that very little air will leak by the same, the other functionbeing to force the top cigarette forward towards the lighter, as clearlyshown in Figure 4, so that it, and it alone, will be ignited by theflame. The bellows 7 is closed at the lower end and is intended by arepetitive operation on the button 31 to cause air to flow back andforth through the top cigarette, and at each indraft, to cause the flameof the igniter to flow into the end of the cigarette andlight the same.The button 26'has a vertical extension 38 with ahook portion 39 that isadapted to catch under bosses 40 on the inner lips of 'the covers 3 tohold the same in their closed position. \Vhen the button 26 howev r ispushed in in the act of lighting the lig ter, the said hook portion andbosses become disengaged and the covers are thrown open into thepositionshown in Figure 2 by reason of springs 41."

The operation of the invention is as follows. The case being properlyfilled with cigarettes as before described and being closed up as shownin Figure 1, the operator grasps the case in the palm of his hand withone finger pressing against button 31 and the thumb against button 26.Pushing on the latter, the covers 3 fly open under the action of thesprings 41 because of the release of the catches 39, 40. At the sametime the wick is lit, the flame passing up, as shown by dotted lines, infront of the top cigarette, the second cigarette being protected fromthe heat of the flame by the shield 30. lVith his finger, the operatornow depresses the button 31 several times which results in sucking theflame in a series of puli's into the top cigarette, causing the same tobecome ignited. With thumb and finger, the top cigarette may now beremoved from the case by taking hold of it near its lighted end anddrawing it upward and outward.

While I have shown a specitic embodiment of my invention, there are manyprinciples involved that I do not wish to have limited to the particularconstruction illustrated, as it will be obvious to'a person properlyskilled to make various substitutes without departing from the scope ofthe invention.

1. A pocket cigarette case comprising two flat sides hinged together atone edge, each Lit] the end of the outer ci arette of the layer,

and means extending t rough the case for operating the said igniter andsimultaneously opening the covers.

2. A construction according to claimll in which the said covers havelatches for retaining them closed and the igniter means are providedwith means for engaging said latches to hold the covers in their closedposition and relhse the same and allow the covers to open when theigniter is operated.

3. A pocket cigarette case-comprisinginv combination a magazine forholding, a pile of cigarettes, means for feeding the o1 rettes towardthe top of thema azine, aligg ing means adjacent the magazine so locatedthat one end of the top cigarette willbe adjacent thereto and the otherend of the top cigarette being adjacent a nozzle, suction.

means including said nozzle and a bellows communicating with the saidnozzle, means projecting through the case at one side to operate thelighting means, and means projecting through the opposite side of thecase whereby the bellows may be operated pulsatingly.

4. A construction a ording to claim 3 in which the means proje ingthrough the case to operate the lamp igniter are on one end of the caseand the means projecting through the case to operate the bellows' are onthe other end.

' 5. A construction according to claim 3 in which a hood is provided tohold the rear end of the top cigarette in place, said hood hav' ingflaring sides to act as guides for the cigarette.

6. A construction according to claim 3 in which a hood is provided forholding the rear end of the top clips for the other end. a

7. A construction according to claim 3 in which a hood is provided forholding the rear end of the cigarette and resilient means for holdingthe other end with a shield between the two holding means to prevent thehandling of the cigarette except at'its forward end.

8. A construction according to claim 3 in which resilient guiding meansare provided for sliding the top cigarette toward the lamp as thecigarettes are pushed upward.

9. A construction according to claim 3 in which resilient means areprovided for forcing the cigarettesup. combined with means for lockingsaid resilient means in its compressed position.

cigarette and resilient 10. A construction according to claim 3 in whichthe bellows is held in an elongated compartment between the saidcigarette magazine and the end of the case, the said bellows being inthe form of a tube and having a semi-cylindrical seat between it and thesaid magazine.

.11. A cigarette case having a cigarette magazine, cigarette ignitionmeans, andcigarette suction means, the latter includin a bellowsheld inan elongated compartment tween the said cigarette magazine and the endof the case, the said bellows being inthe form of a tube and having asemi-cylindrical seat between it and the said magazine, and a plungerextending along the side of -the bellows opposite the said seat, thesaid plunger having an operating button extending through the. case andpresenting a convex face to the said bellows.

12. A construction according to claim 3 in which the bellows is in theform of a tube in an elongated com artment between the magazine and theen of the case with a lunger lengthwise of the bellows between t ebellows and the case and a resilient spring having one end fastened tothe back of the plunger and the other end secured to the case to preventsaid plunger from throwing sidewise.

13. A construction according to claim 3 in which the bellows operatingmeans includes a plunger extending along the side of the F ANK J.NANKIVELL.

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